This pumpkin swirl black bean brownie recipe is so simple and so easy. They’re similar to my classic black bean brownie recipe – no flour and they’re sugar-free. My kids love fudgy bean brownies almost as much as they love white bean blondies. I just love that they’re all healthy!
Ever since I first made black bean brownies, it’s my go-to dessert. White bean blondies come in a close second place, but really, my heart belongs to the original.
Now that it’s fall though, my go-to dessert recipe got a slight make-over.
Move over black bean brownies, hello PUMPKIN SWIRL black bean brownies!!
Just take a look at that gorgeousness – isn’t it beautiful?
Why Make Pumpkin Swirl Black Bean Brownies?
Well, PUMPKIN IS THE BEST!
At least I think so. For everyone else, here’s why you should make these brownies ASAP:
- Freezer-friendly. Once these are cooled, I cut them and store them in the freezer. Then I pull out just once piece when I’m wanting desert.
- Kid-friendly. My kids actually ASK for beans. (Proud Mama moment, here.)
- Easy. No special kitchen skills required.
- Cheap. This recipe is mostly beans and beans are cheap, especially when you make them from scratch.
- Not a cookie. Cookie-overload is a real thing y’all.
- Not overly sweet. Perfect for when you want dessert, but not the sugar-coma.
- Big-batch-able. I’m pretty sure that isn’t a word, but you can easily double this recipe if you have more pans.
- Portable. Need something to bring to a party? I got you covered.
Pumpkin Swirl Black Bean Brownie Recipe
Ok, let’s pause this drool session for a moment and let’s discuss all things awesome about this pumpkin swirl black bean brownie recipe.
The black bean brownie ingredients are in your pantry.
Really, guys, we’re talking about ingredients I’m 95% sure you already have on hand:
- Oats. Instead of using traditional flour, we use a few oats. This helps hold the beans together giving it the perfect texture.
- Black beans. You can use either canned or homemade from scratch – either will work (but homemade IS cheaper.)
- Maple syrup. We’re not using white sugar, brown sugar, or hard to find coconut sugar. Simple pure maple syrup will do. (Not pancake syrup though, which is largely corn syrup and other artificial sweeteners.)
- Eggs. Eggs are a must in this recipe in order to bind the ingredients together. I have not tried using any egg substitutes, but making a flaxseed egg should work!
- Cocoa. If you’re making brownies from scratch, you need cocoa. Dutch-process cocoa, natural cocoa, and raw cacao will all work.
- Coconut oil. This is my go-to fat for baking. It blends in well with this great recipe and it doesn’t taste like coconut in the end.
- Chocolate chips. You know – essentials.
And since it is fall, I’m guessing you have pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice on hand too.
If not, add both to your list ASAP (or make them yourself, homemade pumpkin puree and homemade pumpkin pie spice, respectively) – along with cream cheese – and put this dessert on the menu.
PS – Not sure what to do with the other 4 oz cream cheese? I suggest stove-top mac and cheese or fettuccine with creamy vodka sauce. If you’re in the mood for sweets, make a half batch of pumpkin cookies with naturally sweetened cream cheese frosting!
PPS – Don’t forget to stock up on pumpkin while you can! If you don’t know what to do with the rest of the pumpkin, here are all my favorite pumpkin recipes. OR you can ALWAYS freeze extra homemade pumpkin puree in 1/4 cup portions for later too!
You can make these healthy black bean brownies in a blender.
Guys, nothing screams easy more than a recipe you make entirely with a blender.
(For the record, I’ve had my Blendtec coming up on FOUR years and I use it at least 5 times a week. Here are 45+ ways that I use it! It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Put it on your Christmas wish-list!)
There’s no chopping, stirring or anything like that. You have two rounds of “dump and blend,” a quick swipe with a butter knife (to make the swirl), a good long bake and BOOM. Pumpkin swirl black bean brownies are on the table.
Here’s my “make-ahead” tip, which I’m not entirely sure is much of a tip since you’re already cutting prep time into mere seconds since you’re using a blender… but here goes anyway…
I recommend whipping up this recipe as you’re cooking dinner.
You know those minutes you have when you’re stirring something, waiting for water to boil or something else is in the oven?
Those are the minutes I’m talking about (and the minutes I help you make the most of in my free mini-course Real Food Fast!).
- Whip up the black bean brownie part first, and pour into the pan.
- Then blend the pumpkin swirl batter and let it sit in the blender until you’re ready to bake.
- Before you sit for dinner, swirl the batter and stick the pan in the oven.
- Your delicious batch of pumpkin swirl black bean brownies can bake while you’re eating dinner, cool for about 30 minutes while you’re cleaning up and everyone still goes to bed on time.
This recipe makes a lot of pumpkin swirl black bean brownies.
My original black bean brownie recipe is made in either an 8” x 8” baking pan or a 9” x 9” baking pan (whichever you have will work). And I took pictures in a smaller pan ONLY because my big pan was dirty.
So don’t be fooled. I haven’t mastered the art of splitting one egg into two, meaning this recipe makes a full 9”x13” pan of brownies. Not a bad side effect if you love brownies and pumpkin like I do!
Whether you make this for company, freeze half for later or eat half the pan when no one is looking (I won’t judge!), this family-size recipe has you covered.
This easy black bean recipe is 100% company friendly AND healthy.
I mentioned earlier that this is my go-to dessert recipe, and that includes when we’re hosting company.
In fact, I gave my original black bean brownie recipe to company and THREE PEOPLE didn’t even realize it was made with black beans. There is NO bean taste!
That means this season when you’re asked to bring a dish to a party, sign up for pumpkin swirl brownies. You’ll win them over AND feel good knowing you brought something healthy!
Do Pumpkin Swirl Black Bean Brownies Taste Good?
Um, yes!
- My husband ruined his dinner with them on more than one night.
- The kids asked for them in their lunches AND after school snack.
- I ate them for breakfast. #noshame
- These brownies are slightly gooey and fudgy.
- This black bean brownie recipe is not vegan or dairy-free but it is gluten-free.
- Brownie Base
3 cups cooked black beans (I use homemade, but you can use 2 cans, drained and rinsed three times) - 1 cup maple syrup*
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
- 4 tsp vanilla
- 4 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 cup oats
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- Pumpkin Swirl
4 oz cream cheese, softened - ½ cup pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup*
- 1½ tsp pumpkin pie spice (store-bought or homemade)
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- Grease a 9" x 13" glass baking dish with butter and set aside.
- In a blender, combine all the brownie base ingredients except the chocolate chips. Blend until the batter is smooth. Pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top.
- Wash, rinse and dry the blender. Add all the pumpkin swirl ingredients and blend until the batter is smooth.
- Using a large spoon, dollop the pumpkin swirl batter on top of the brownie base. Using a butter knife and starting on one side of the pan, run the knife through the batter and all the way down the pan. Move over about 1 inch and repeat the process, this time running the knife in the opposite direction to get the "back and forth" swirls. Repeat until the whole pan has swirls.
- Bake for 40 minutes, or until the edges of the brownie start to pull away from the edge of the pan.
- The brownie will be gooey and fudgy. For a firmer brownie, store in the fridge.
1/2 a what of pumpkin puree? Looks great!
Cup! I’ll fix that right now!
I love the idea of this recipes but me and my family are note big pumpkin fans, any other ideas of flavor ideas I could swap out for the pumpkin? Thanks
Anything that would compliment cream cheese and chocolate would work, maybe strawberry or raspberry puree? You’d have to tinker with the measurement though, since it may not have the same consistency as pumpkin.
Have you ever made these with honey instead of maple syrup?
I made the original brownies with honey once, but I didn’t think the honey flavor complimented the chocolate very well and much preferred the maple syrup. For the pumpkin swirl brownies, I didn’t even test honey because of the flavor in the original recipe. Some other readers though, have used honey without a problem. I think it boils down to a flavor preference. 🙂
Thanks much! I usually have a lot more honey in the house than maple syrup!
I made this last night and it was just awful! Ended up throwing it all away!
Really Terri? Did you follow the recipe as written? Can you be more specific as to why you thought it was awful? We made several batches for several families and everyone like them.
OK, these were super yummy! I like that the brownies needed no eggs. I have made black bean brownies with 4 eggs before. I had a half cup of pumpkin puree left from another cooking adventure so I decided to finish it off with this. Thanks!!
I’m so glad you liked them Shonda! Thank you for coming back and letting me know. ♥
Hi. Have you ever tried a different flour. A family member cannot eat oat flour. I am new to using different flours and haven’t experimented enough to be comfortable swapping out the flour. Thank you.
Are they allergic to oats, Michele? If not, you can just include the same measurement of oats to make oat flour (some store-bought flour have additives). If they are, all-purpose should be a fine alternative. I haven’t tested whole wheat, but white wheat should be okay too (it’s less “wheaty” than red wheat).
Fantastic recipe Tiffany! They were amazing. My kids didn’t even know the brownies were “bean” brownies!!
I’m so glad you liked them Mary Katherine!!
Can you swap the coconut oil for butter or something else? Our friend is allergic.
I think you can Lisa. I haven’t tried this myself, but you can’t go wrong with butter. 🙂
thanks! I was thinking the same thing!
Will brown rice syrup work? I don’t have any maple.
Or agave?
In theory it should Amy, but give a taste test first. I haven’t used either one of those sweeteners, and I’m not sure how sweet they are in comparison to maple syrup. Both batters should be thick!
I successfully made a half batch! This was only due to having teenage chickens that are laying tiny eggs where I need two to equal one anyways. 😂. I subbed the chocolate chips for pecans so I didn’t need to make a store run for one ingredient. They are in the oven now and looking amazing. It makes me feel good that I’m feeding my family something healthy-ish and sweet!
YUM! Way to go Cecile! (the only reason these are a “double batch” is because I couldn’t separate that one egg, LOL!!)
Amazing. This recipe is good for the entire year (not just pumpkin time). Thanks!!!
quick ? on step #4, do I have to wash the blender between the brownie batter and the pumpkin swirl topping? If I scrap the blender well…good enough? or will the batter not be as pretty as your photo?
I’m going to go rinse & soak the beans so, I can make them in the Instant Pot in the morning. Then try this recipe tomorrow…hope to sneak this into the oven without the children noticing 🙂 what is in the brownies.
You don’t HAVE to Priscilla, and I only washed to help the color contrast in the pictures. 😉 I think a good scraping is just as good!!
Hmm…my pumpkin swirl was very runny…maybe by pumpkin was too watery? I sorta scooped it into the brownie batter so it may have been a bit gooey-ier than it should have and I can taste the beans in it but it is VERY good. I could have eaten the batter by the spoonful (and I may have)
My poor blender about died though. I think this is a food processor recipe for me 🙂
I didn’t tell my hubby what is in it and he enjoyed it.
Glad your husband enjoyed it Michelle!! I have a Blendtec, which is a pretty powerful blender. I don’t own a food processor so I haven’t tried that method, but definitely use whatever method works and doesn’t break your machines! 🙂
I had to come back and update my reply- after I put them in the fridge to firm up and cool, I could not detect the beans AT ALL!
Have you ever tried to make a Blondie version with navy beans? At first, I was not too sure of the pumpkin and chocolate combo, but the more I ate, the more I liked it.
Oh wonderful!! I’m so glad you liked them Michelle!! I HAVE done a blondie version! https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2016/10/white-bean-blondies/ I used great northern, but you can use navy. The blondies are more buttersctoch-y, and a bit gooey-er. 🙂
Hi Tiffany! These brownies are so delicious! I’ve made them several times and they have become a family favorite. We had them again this morning for breakfast. Thanks for all you do Tiffany! Your work on your blog is amazing. Keep up the good work!
Hi Tiffany! Would you mind correcting my last comment I made in error from “you’re” to “your” when you get a chance? Thank you! 😊
Fixed! 🙂
Can you make this without cream cheese?? My dad can’t have dairy.
I haven’t made this without the cream cheese Megan, so I’m not sure. There are recipes out there for a dairy-free cream cheese that use cashews!
These taste great but how gooey is too gooey? My oven temp is usually true to what recipes asks but these barely hold their shape when cut. Are they underdone?
Hi KS! Did you let them cool completely before cutting? They should hold shape when they’re cut, but this won’t happen fresh out of the oven. And they hold even better once they’ve been in the fridge. If you let them cooled, I’d say they’re underdone (but honestly, I’d still eat them, LOL).
any adjustments to baking for high altitude?
I’ve had several failures due to change in altitude living. 🙁
I’m so sorry Sue, I’m not experienced with high altitude baking so I don’t know!
This is definitely more of a food processor recipe. I made it twice and both time my Vitamix blender turned off from overheating (i tried putting the ingredients in a different order the second time to no avail). The first ones were pretty crummy because of the chunks of whole beans and whole oats in it still, but the second ones were ok. Far too sweet with 1 cup of maple syrup, but I didn’t want to try and use less given it was already too thick to blend properly. Once the blender overheated a second time, I put everything into the food processor and that helped, but I would never describe the batter as ‘pourable’.
The pumpkin mix was not very yummy in my opinion either and I really love pumpkin. It poofed up a lot while baking and never blended with the chocolate layer. More like gooey chocolate on the bottom and puffy pumpkin on top.
I will not be making these again sadly.
I’m sorry you didn’t like these, Rose. They’re one of our favorites!